Hiking to the top of Padar Island in Komodo National Park

11 Day Bali Itinerary (Plus Komodo Dragons!)

by Nichole | Last updated Feb 9, 2025 | Bali, Asia Itinerary

Bali is truly a magical, happy place. The locals are friendly and warm, always with big smiles. My husband and I were surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty and vibrantly colored flowers everywhere we turned. If you’re after finding all the typical Instagram photo ops, this Bali itinerary might not be for you. But if you love to explore, bike, snorkel, hike, and taste all the amazing food Bali has to offer, (plus throw in a few Komodo Dragons), then you are going to love my itinerary! Here are all the amazing outdoor and foodie experiences (plus the best Bali boutique hotels!) we squeezed into 11 days.

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Private villa with infinity pool at Munduk Moding Plantation in Bali

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Day 1: Travel Day to Bali

2 pm: Arrived at Bali’s airport (DPS) from Singapore. The immigration lines were insane! Complete your e-Visa online ahead of time! They had just installed autogates to get tourists through immigration arrival checks. But the technology was glitchy. My husband went through with no problem, but I did not and had to go through a manual check with an actual person. I’ve heard it’s much faster now!

We hired a driver through our amazing boutique hotel, who was promptly waiting for us with a big smile. Heads up, it took us 3 hours to get from the airport to the hotel. Traffic is crazy. Trust me, Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort will be well worth it! Make sure you go to the bathroom before you leave the airport and grab a snack.

Breakfast/Lunch: At the airport/on plane.

7:30 pm Dinner: Discovery Six Courses Tasting Menu at the hotel.

Overnight: Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort

Learning to make latte art at Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort in Bali

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Day 2: Coffee Plantation Tour + Barista Class

8:30 am: Lovely breakfast at the hotel overlooking the pool.

10:30 am -11:30 am: The hotel is situated on a coffee plantation. Do not miss the complimentary Munduk Coffee Experience Deep Dive tour to learn more about harvesting and coffee processing, including honey, natural, full wash, and luwak. We got to taste the differences!

12 pm: Relax time. We splurged on a villa with a private pool. Wow.

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Barista class with the talented Oka! He’ll show you how to do all the cool latte art, and then you get to practice (a lot!).

4 pm: Incredible 90-minute Bamboo Massage with Yassy followed by tea time + cookies delivered to our villa to enjoy poolside.

7:30 pm: Dinner at Warung Bongkot to try North Balinese dishes.

Overnight: Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort

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Day 3: Waterfall + Temple + Monkeys

7:15 am: Another delicious breakfast at the hotel.

10 am – 4:45 pm: Next stop was Ubud! But instead of just doing a quick transfer, we hired the best Bali Driver, Made, to show us some beautiful sites along the way. Here’s my itinerary and full review. We hiked to the jaw dropping Banyumala Twin Waterfalls, visited the beautiful floating water temple, tried the famous lukwak coffee at Kopi Luwak Baturiti, strolled through the Sangeh Monkey Forest to see all the famous monkeys, stopped at Made’s home to see how the locals live, and checked out Swing Heaven. We packed a lot in! Checked into our next hotel at 4:45 pm.

5:30 pm: Pool time overlooking the rice paddies. Gorgeous views!

7 pm: Wonderful local dinner at the hotel.

Overnight: Uma Kalai

Relaxing bike tour with Love Bali Bike Tours

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Day 4: Bike Tour through Bali's Countryside

7:30 am: Delicious breakfast at the hotel.

8 am – 3:15 pm: Do not miss this bike tour! Kadek and Ketut expertly guided us on bikes through the beautiful Balinese countryside. We got to see the famous Tegalalang Rice Terrace, cute farm animals, a typical Balinese family compound, and get up close and personal with “friendly” spiders if you choose, lol. A delicious local lunch is included. We really enjoyed this tour, but you do need to feel comfortable on a bike. Here’s my full bike review.

6:15 pm: Pre-dinner cocktails at Night Rooster. Very unique flavors.

8:30 pm: Dinner at Nusantara by Locavore. If you want to experience expertly prepared traditional Indonesian dishes using local ingredients, this is the restaurant to book!

Overnight: Uma Kalai

Making nasi goreng at The Omahneka Warung Cooking Class

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Day 5: Cooking Class + Honey & Smoke

9:15 am: Another great breakfast at the hotel. We kept it light because next up on the agenda was learning how to cook Indonesian dishes!

10 am – 1 pm: We love cooking classes and seek them out when we visit new destinations. Hubby and I booked Ketut’s Omahneka Cooking Class and had a fantastic 3 hours of learning about classic Indonesian ingredients and cooking traditional dishes. What really made this experience stand out was Ketut, the amazing Chef with the kindest smile. See my full cooking review for all the details.

2 pm: Pool time. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel and wanted to make sure we had time to enjoy it. The pool and views are to die for.

5:30 pm: Cocktails + dinner at Honey & Smoke. Order the slow-cooked lamb pappardelle and the Norihana Smoke cocktail! You’re welcome.

Overnight: Uma Kalai

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Day 6: Transfer to Komodo Resort + Snorkel

7 am: One last quick breakfast at our lovely hotel.

7:30 am: Made, our private driver, drove us to the airport (DPS).

11:45 am: Flight to Komodo International Airport (LBJ) at Labuan Bajo with Lion Air. Arrived at 12:55 pm.

1:30 pm: Short private boat ride to our hotel.

2:30 pm: Light lunch at our next resort while they prepared our room. Booked our snorkel tour for the next day.

4 pm: We did a quick snorkel at the gorgeous house reef. We encountered large schools of fish, beautiful coral, and a few turtles!

7 pm: Dinner at the reort.

Overnight: Komodo Resort & Diving Club

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Day 7: Snorkel Tour + House Reef

8 am – 12 pm: Half day snorkel tour with the resort’s dive company. We saw a few blacktip reef sharks, large schools of fish, and beautiful coral.

1 pm: After working up an appetite from that snorkel session, we enjoyed a nice lunch of fish & chips at the resort.

2 pm: Because we love snorkeling, we popped back in the water to snorkel the beautiful house reef. This is the main reason we chose to stay at the Komodo Resort!

6 pm: Happy hour cocktails on our balcony. Sunsets are gorgeous! Tip: make sure to pick up some wine at the airport to enjoy at the resort.

7 pm: Dinner at the resort.

Overnight: Komodo Resort & Diving Club

Komodo Dragon being lazy in the sand but keeping an eye on us on Komodo Island

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Day 8: Komodo Dragon Full Tour

7 am: Light breakfast at the resort.

7:30 am – 3:30 pm: Besides the amazing snorkeling, one of the big reasons we wanted to visit Komodo National Park was to see the famous Komodo Dragons! There are 3 ways to get to Komodo Island from Bali. We did a full day tour arranged through our resort. We hiked to the top of Padar Island for epic views, walked near the powerful Komodo Dragons, enjoyed a local lunch, swam at Pink Beach (yes, it’s really pink due to the coral), and got a little snorkeling in (no manta rays, maybe next time).

7 pm: Dinner at the resort.

Overnight: Komodo Resort & Diving Club

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Day 9: Back to Bali + Explore Sanur

8:15 am: Breakfast at the resort.

10:30 am: Private short boat ride back to the airport.

1:35 pm: Flight with Lion Air from Komodo International Airport (LBJ) back to Bali (DPS). Arrived at 2:55 pm.

4 pm: Our driver (arranged through the hotel) picked us up and transferred us to the hotel. Checked into the hotel around 4:45 pm.

6 pm: Sanur is a laidback beach town with a beautiful boardwalk right on the beach, which is lined with great restaurants and bars. We walked from our hotel down to the boardwalk for dinner.

6:15 pm: Cocktails and delicious wood-fired pizza at Coco Bistro. After dinner, we enjoyed some incredible gelato at Massimo.

Overnight: Karmagali Suites

Snorkeling with multiple manta rays at Manta Point in Nusa Penida

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Day 10: Nusa Penida Snorkel Tour with Mantas

6:45 am: Arranged a take-away breakfast with the hotel the night before.

7:30 am – 4:30 pm: Met up at Coco Bistro to check in for our snorkel tour to Nusa Penida. If you love snorkeling, you are going to love this tour! We got to do a shallow snorkel with large graceful manta rays. I didn’t want to get out of the water! You do need to be confident in the water to do this tour. The tour also offered two more snorkel spots (The Wall and Mangrove Point) where we saw beautiful fish and turtles! Plus, we also got to see the famous Kelingking Beach and had a leisurely cliffside lunch. The tour guides (especially Vino) really made this tour a lot of fun. See my full snorkel review for all the details!

5 pm: Well-crafted cocktails + delicious tapas at Tree Bar at Maya Sanur. We walked here after our tour. Thankfully, they did not mind our “snorkel look.”

Overnight: Karmagali Suites

Enjoying the pool at Karmagali Suites in Sanur Bali

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Day 11: Fly Back Home

8 am: Enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of crepes, eggs, fruit, and pastries on our room’s patio.

10 am: Relaxed at our resort’s beautiful pool before heading to the airport.

12 pm: Hotel’s driver took us to the airport to make the sad journey back home. Until next time Bali!

4 pm: Flight back home.

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Who Will Love This Bali + Komodo Itinerary

Beach lovers
Foodies
Waterfall chasers
Animals lovers
Snorkeling enthusiasts

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Best Time to Visit Bali + Komodo

The best time to visit is April – October, which is Bali + Komodo’s dry season. I am a mosquito magnet, so I try to avoid the rainy season.

June – August is the peak season, which means higher prices.

We went during the first two weeks of September and had fantastic weather.

The only downside is we missed the manta rays in Komodo National Park (but we got to see them in Nusa Penida!). The best time to see mantas in Komodo National Park is October – March, especially between December – February.

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Hotel

Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort (2 nights)

See my super detailed MMP hotel review.

Our villa with private pool at Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort in Bali

BOOK HERE

Uma Kalai (3 nights)

See my super detailed Uma Kalai hotel review.

BOOK HERE

Komodo Resort & Diving Club (3 nights)

Grand View Room at Komodo Resort and Diving Club

BOOK HERE

Karmagali Suites (2 nights)

BOOK HERE

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Airlines & Lounges

Cathay Pacific

Love this airline! We traveled to Singapore from the United States via Hong Kong. We spent a few days in Singapore first before heading to Bali. The return flight path was from Bali to Hong Kong to the United States.
Flight time each way was around 40 hours. We did this on purpose to have a 13-15 hour layover in Hong Kong. We booked a hotel next to the airport, so we were well-rested before the next leg. Great way to break up the trip especially if you are older’ish like us. 😊

Scoot

We flew from Singapore directly to Bali. The other reputable option is Singapore Airlines.

The Pier Business Class Lounge (Hong Kong)

The Pier is one of our favorite lounges. Order the Dan Dan noodles at the Noodle House and enjoy some Japanese sencha at the Tea House. I love to fly through Hong Kong just to visit this lounge!

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How to Get Around

Some people rent scooters. I think that’s a death sentence. Use Grab (cheap and reliable), hire a private driver, or arrange transport through your hotel.

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Bali Tips

I (surprisingly) avoided Bali Belly by taking Travelan. I have puked all over the world (a little TMI) until I met this secret weapon. See my full review.

Bali has lots of traffic! Don’t underestimate the time it takes to get from Point A to Point B.

Stay close to the airport on the last night before you head home. One reason we loved staying in Sanur during our last few nights.

Download an earthquake app. Bali is in the Ring of Fire. And yes, we experienced an earthquake during our trip, which was a little scary. I downloaded a few earthquake apps before our trip, so luckily I could see exactly what was happening as people reported it.

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Tours

Munduk Coffe Tour + Barista Class

We arranged these tours directly through the resort.

North Bali Tour Highlights

We hired our personal driver, Made, to show us all the cool sights on our way to Ubud.

Bali Bike Tour (Ubud)

BOOK HERE

Cooking Class (Ubud)

BOOK HERE

Snorkel Tour + Komodo Island Tour

We arranged both tours through the Komodo Resort & Diving Club once we arrived. You can’t “pre-book.” Be advised the Komodo Island Tour requires a minimum of 8 people to run the tour.

Nusa Penida Snorkeling Tour (Sanur)

BOOK HERE

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Dinner Reservations

Munduk Moding Plantation Nature Resort

* We booked the tasting menu experience before we arrived through the hotel.

Nusantara by Locavore

BOOK HERE

Night Rooster

BOOK HERE

Honey & Smoke

BOOK HERE

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What I Would Have Changed

I would have skipped Swing Heaven on our North Bali highlights tour. A little too Instagrammy for me.

I would have loved to have one more day in Ubud to go shopping! They have so many beautiful pottery stores and art stores.

We stayed at Komodo Resort because I knew they had a great house reef (we are avid snorkelers so that’s super important to use), and they had a great location to get out to see the Komodo Dragons. Komodo Resort itself though has seen better days. There’s been a recent change in management, which may have been the reason for the good (but not great) service. Sudamala Resort Seraya was another resort we were highly considering (more of our accommodation style), but I wasn’t sure if the house reef would be as good as the Komodo Resort.

I’m Nichole, the author of all the blog posts on Enriching Pursuits. Think of me as your geeky DIY discerning travel friend who dives deep—Google Page 20 deep—to uncover the best ways to enjoy exceptional outdoor adventures and foodie experiences.

My husband and I are experienced snorkelers, day hikers, and casual cyclists who also love delicious street food, an incredible glass of wine, and the occasional Michelin-starred meal.

Balancing full-time careers, we cherish every second of our vacation days and love sharing tips to help you do the same. If this sounds like your kind of travel, subscribe below or drop me a note with any questions—I’d love to hear from you!